With the unanimous approval of the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party), a presidential and vice presidential ticket of Chiang Ching-kuo and Shieh Tung-min was placed before the National Assembly in mid-February. The nominations were tantamount to election by the Assembly, which acts as an electoral college, for six-year terms at the helm of the Republic of China. The incumbent President, Yen Chia-kan, who succeeded the late President Chiang Kai-shek in April of 1975, will retire in May at the expiration of his term. The country has been without a Vice President since Yen Chia-kan assumed the highest office.
Premier Chiang Ching-kuo, who is also chairman of the Kuomintang, had been recommended to the majority party by President Yen. After his nomination at the Second Plenary Session of the party's 11th Central Committee, Chiang Ching-kuo chose Taiwan Governor Shieh as his running mate. The party had asked him to make the selection.
Thousands of letters urging Premier Chiang's nomination poured into the Kuomintang before the Plenary Session opened February 14. In Taiwan, the Premier had felt compelled to ask the people to call off an islandwide campaign in his behalf. After the nomination, he spoke out again to ask the suspension of a television and newspaper advertising campaign supporting his candidacy. Endorsements of the Kuomintang's choice came from all over the world.
In his opening address to the party, Chairman Chiang Ching-kuo said: "We must now plunge into a greater and more glorious struggle in order to respond to the Three Principles of the People (Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Nationalism, Democracy and People's Welfare), the country, the people and history." The result, he said, "will be the recovery of the 12 million square kilometers of territory, the liberation and freedom of our mainland compatriots, reconstruction of the Republic of China based on the Three Principles, the revival of the nation, the maintenance and security of humankind's well-being and the peace and security of the world." (The full text of Chairman Chiang's remarks will be found in the Documents department of this issue.)
The presidential nomination of Chiang Ching-kuo was proposed by the party's Central Advisory Committee in pursuit of President Yen's recommendation and adopted by acclamation. Responding, Chairman Chiang said the draft filled his heart with hesitation.
"Since I joined the government as a member of the party," he said, "I have always both admonished and encouraged myself that 'I should be a faithful follower of the party and a loyal public servant of the country.' With the passing of the Tsungtsai (President Chiang Kai-shek), the nation's crisis and the party's responsibility have increased day by day. In transforming my own grief into strength for action and in cautiously redoubling my own efforts, I have sought to follow my seniors and join my comrades in augmenting our determination to overcome all difficulties, implement the Tsungtsai's instructions and carry out thoroughly the Tsungli's (Dr. Sun Yat-sen's) doctrines, and implement renovations for the people's well-being. I examined all these matters in the depths of my heart and found I have not measured up to the party's and the country's expectations in any respect.
"Mr. Yen Chia-kan assisted the Tsungtsai and succeeded him as President. Although his outstanding virtues and great contributions have won respect both at home and abroad, Mr. Yen was so modest and humble as to recommend me to succeed him in the presidency. As a result of his recommendation, the Presidium of the Central Advisory Committee and the comrades of the Central Standing Committee recommended my nomination to the Plenary Session. Considering that there are many senior and able comrades in the party and thinking of my own abilities and virtues, how can I think of succeeding Mr. Yen and taking upon my shoulders the mandate of all the comrades of the party? This is the reason for my apprehension and lingering uneasiness.
"Nevertheless, I am a revolutionary party member and have long received the cultivation of the party, the instructions of my seniors and the encouragement of all my comrades. In the light of my heavy obligations to national revival, the Revolution and party honor, of continuing and aggravated world changes and of mounting worries and responsibilities, I must not stand on courtesy and am compelled to accept the nomination for the presidency so that I can dedicate and sacrifice myself in order to 'realize the Three Principles of the People, recover the Chinese mainland, revive the national culture and remain in the democratic camps. ' “
Once President Yen had decided to retire, the choice of Premier-chairman Chiang became inevitable. No one else in the Republic of China is close to him in stature or experience. He was reared and advised by his father, President Chiang Kai-shek, and then served an apprenticeship that carried him through important positions on the mainland and in Taiwan. He learned about defense as the chief of that ministry and about administration as vice premier under Yen Chia-kan. From economics to the leadership of youth, there is no activity of government and social affairs with which he has not dealt personally and competently.
The Kuomintang turned to Chairman Chiang for a recommendation in choosing his running mate, and the presidential nominee responded in these words:
"In compliance with the decision of the third meeting of the Second Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee that the party's candidate for the sixth vice presidency of the Republic of China should be nominated by the party's candidate for the sixth presidency of the Republic of China, I hereby recommend to the Plenary Session Comrade Shieh Tung-min as this party's candidate for sixth Vice President.
"Comrade Shieh comes from Changhua county in Taiwan province. His national consciousness has been strong since boyhood. At the age of 20, he resisted Japanese rule and could not live in peace. That was at the time when the Tsungtsai was leading the National Revolutionary Forces in the Northward Expedition. This won Comrade Shieh's wholehearted admiration. Forthrightly and determinedly, Comrade Shieh left Taiwan to pursue studies in Shanghai and Canton. After graduation from college, he engaged in journalistic, cultural and educational work. Later he served as an executive member of the party's Taiwan provincial office based at Changchow, Fukien province, and was elected a member of the party's Sixth National Congress.
"Comrade Shieh returned to Taiwan immediately after victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan and the retrocession of Taiwan to China. He served as magistrate of Kaohsiung county, deputy commissioner of the Taiwan Provincial Department of Education, vice speaker and then speaker of the Taiwan Provincial Assembly and governor of Taiwan. In all of these positions, Comrade Shieh worked diligently to broaden the channels of communication between the people and the government, promote provincial construction, implement the orders and statutes of the Central Government and carry out the fundamental national policy of opposing Communism for national recovery.
"In his scores of years in public service - whether in cultural or educational posts, representative offices, or government and party positions - he has never failed to demonstrate his spirit of innovation and has made meritorious contributions. His courage and fortitude in the face of wicked violence and his working attitude of impartiality and diligence have fully reflected the sincerity and dedication of a revolutionary party member to the whole country.
"Governor Shieh is therefore an appropriate choice as the party's vice presidential candidate, and I recommend him for your approval."
Governor Shieh showed great courage and perseverance after his left hand was blown off by a terrorist bomb. Instead of accepting retirement and semi-invalidism, he quickly returned to his office and overcame the handicap. Today few people realize that his left hand is not his own and that he also suffered injuries to his right hand.
He went to the Chinese mainland in 1926 to escape Japanese persecution. First admitted to Soochow University, he subsequently transferred to National Sun Yat-sen University. During the eight-year War of Resistance Against Japan, he worked as a journalist and for the Kuomintang. He was the only Taiwanese delegate at the Sixth Congress of the Kuomintang in 1945 and met President Chiang Kai-shek, the party's director-general. Since his return to Taiwan he has held many posts in the Provincial Government and administration. He has been governor for nearly six years. As a result of his "Well-to-Do" economic program, poverty has been largely eliminated from the province."
In his closing address to the Plenary Session, Chiang Ching-kuo spoke both as the party's candidate for the nation's highest office and as its chairman. He described himself as having the feelings of a man walking on thin ice or standing on the brink of an abyss.
"I am confident and determined," he said, "not because I excel others in ability and talent. My feelings stem from my conviction that our Tsungli's Three Principles of the People represent the thought and the way of life universally pursued by humankind, from my conviction that the Tsungtsai's determination to fight against the Communists and for national recovery has opened a road of freedom on which we can save ourselves and our country and re-establish a world order of peace, and my conviction that only democratic and constitutional government can be considered a progressive political system in modern times. Each of the Chinese and all the people of the world who love freedom and democracy eventually will recognize and embrace these truths, choose this road and support this struggle.
"I believe this is no longer an era of personal aggrandizement. We can undertake common enterprises and write common revolutionary history only by combining our wisdom, endeavors and efforts. So it is that I have said: 'All the people on Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, civilian and military alike, will become great heroes in Chinese history.' Since accepting the party's draft to take up the responsibility for government administration five years ago, and especially since being placed in service by the party central after the Tsungtsai's passing, I have been deeply touched by the unprecedented solidarity and cooperation accorded me inside and outside the party. In less than three years, we have carried on without disruption all the major construction projects despite the buffeting of the adverse economic tide. We have augmented the understanding and confidence in which we are held by other nations despite the tugging of the political undertow. I want to say that these successes result from our common effort and struggle and are the fruit of the solidarity and cooperation of the whole party.
"All of the people now expect that our government will become one of 'inspiration and competence.' They also surely expect that our party will become one of 'dynamic revolutionary democracy' so that the government can adhere more closely to its principles and grow in competence. In recent letters I have received from party comrades, most have touched on problems of the party's spirit, organization and working methods. They include many warnings and remonstrances that are deeply affectionate. In general, these points have been mentioned:
" - Party members identify the target of struggle as the implementation of the Three Principles of the People and the fulfillment of their revolutionary responsibility.
" - Our party must be revolutionary and have the support of the masses of the people. The policy of the party must be geared to the interests and life of the people regardless of time and place.
" - Party work must stress party spirit, ethics and practical experience. The concept of the 'public' should be given basic emphasis. The public interest always comes ahead of the private interest, and one should forget one's self in working for the people.
" - Coordination, planning, balance, enlistment of help and devotion should be stressed in all systems, policies and actions so that we can build up a united combat capability in the struggle against Communism and .for national recovery.
"Such encouraging tendencies are expected not only of party comrades, but also of me in my struggle for the party and the country. Such encouragement has strengthened my work concept, attitude and confidence and enabled me to perceive more clearly that the decisions of this meeting to strengthen the central organization and improve the local party structure are intended to purify more sincerely the party's basic structures, thus enabling us to unite with all the people of the country and exercise an aspiring, dynamic and fundamental influence. We know that only when organization is strong can the party become powerful and that only when the people are aspiring and competent can the government show great aspiration and competence.
"I am placing special emphasis on the basic relationships involved in the future of the party and country and the people's happiness at this time when I am accepting the party draft. The reason for this is my expectation that all of us will become the vanguard of the people and that each of us will demonstrate his sincere and pure revolutionary spirit in combining the revolutionary sentiment and power of the party and the people to accelerate the completing of our whole range of tasks: 'realizing the Three Principles of the People, recovering the mainland, reviving national culture and remaining in the camp of democracy.'
The Kuomintang awards the second Chungshan medal ever given to President Yen for service to the nation.(File photo)
"As my responsibility subsequently increases, I shall contribute all my energy and thought. I shall join Comrade Shieh Tung-min in dedication to the party, sacrifice for the nation and service to the people so we can console the souls of our Tsungli and Tsungtsai resting in heaven. Finally, I sincerely call on all my comrades of the party and my compatriots of the country to provide us with even greater encouragement and guidance in our common struggle for victory in our two historic tasks of fighting the Communists to achieve national recovery and carrying out national construction under the Constitution."
Upon recommendation of the steering committee, the nearly 1,000 members of the Kuomintang attending the Plenary Session paid the party's highest honor to President Yen Chia-kan, Only Madame Chiang Kai-shek had previously received the Chungshan Medal from the party. He was cited for his loyal and untiring service to the nation and the party.
Members of the 22-man Central Standing Committee headed by President Yen were re-elected.
The other 21 are:
- Ku Cheng-kang of Kweichow, vice chairman of the National Assembly.
- Shieh Tung-min.
- Huang Shao-ku of Hunan, secretary general of the National Security Council.
- Chang Chi-yun of Chekiang, founder and board chairman of the College of Chinese Culture.
- General Huang Chieh of Hunan, strategy adviser to the President.
- Nieh Wen-ya of Chekiang, president of the Legislative Yuan.
- Yuan Shou-chien of Hunan, senior adviser to the President.
- General Kao Kuei-yuan of Shantung, defense minister.
- Admiral Soong Chang-chih of Liaoning, chief of the general staff of the armed forces.
- Y.S. Sun of Shantung, economic minister.
- K.T. Li of Nanking, minister of state.
- Y.S. Tsiang of Chekiang, commissioner of the Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction.
- Shen Chang-huan of Kiangsi, foreign minister,
- Cheng Yin-fun of Kwangtung, presidential secretary general.
- Lin Ching-sheng of Taiwan, minister of communications,
- Kuo Chi of Chekiang, secretary general of the National Assembly Planning Commission for the Recovery of the Mainland,
- Lin Ting-sheng, speaker of the Taipei City Council.
- Walter H. Fei of Kiangsu, finance minister,
- Hsu Ching-chung of Taiwan, vice premier,
- Kuo Cheng of Shansi, minister of state,
- Tsai Hong-wen of Taiwan, speaker of the Taiwan Provincial Assembly,
Before adjournment, the Kuomintang Second Plenary Session issued a Manifesto attesting that as Chairman Chiang Ching-kuo has said, "there is no so-called 'Taiwan issue' but only the 'China issue,' The definitive solution of the 'China issue' call for the termination of the Chinese Communists' despotic rule on the mainland and the restoration of a democratic and unified China. This is the only way to remove the root source of Asian turmoil, to mitigate the worldwide Communist menace and to ensure lasting peace on earth. Consequently, the success or failure of the anti-Communist struggle by the Chinese people involves not only the happiness or tragedy of the Chinese nation, but also the fate of the people of all the world. The Chinese people's struggle against Communism and slavery and for human rights and freedom is an irresistible and formidable torrent of humanity. It is devoutly to be hoped that the democratic countries can distinguish friend from foe and the helpful from the harmful and thus will stand at the side of the Chinese people and give them active support. In a practical sense, all attempts to befriend or make alignments with the Chinese Communists are illusions or hallucinations. These can only enlarge disaster in the Asian-Pacific region, aggravate the crisis in world peace and exact a terrible price from civilized peoples."
The Manifesto attested that the party is "dedicated to the National Revolution's goals of freedom and equality for China and the establishment of a democratic republic of the people, by the people and for the people based on the Three Principles of the People." Both Sun Yat-sen and President Chiang consistently maintained that the survival or fall of a nation would be decided by whether the people possessed the spirit of independence and self-reliance. "During the course of revolution," the Manifesto said, "this party has succeeded at last despite setbacks and defeats. This is because it has brought out the people's spirit of independence and self-reliance… If soldiers and civilians can intensify their confidence and continue their hard work, all can become self-reliant citizens and rid themselves of the psychology of accepting a life of temporary peace through dependence on others. So long as we can act in the spirit of 'it's all up to me,' we can create a new horizon and open up a bright future for our country."
The Manifesto said history proves the necessity for leadership. "In order to assure the success of the great anti-Communist undertaking for national recovery," the party said, "we must rely on determined, fortitudinous and prescient leader ship. At this moment when the national fortunes are prospering and the odds are in our favor, we earnestly hope all the honorable members of the National Assembly who are exercising political power on behalf of the people of the whole country will give their full support to the party's presidential candidate, Mr. Chiang Ching-kuo, and the party's vice presidential candidate, Comrade Shieh Tung-min, in keeping with the spirit of mutual help by passengers aboard a boat sailing through rough seas so as to fulfill the common wish of the people. We trust that all the people of the country will make sacrifices, focus their minds as one and combine their strength in the common struggle to assure victory in the anti-Communist struggle and success in national construction."
Governor Shieh Tung-min thanks Kuomintang comrades for nominating him as the vice presidential candidate.(File photo)
More than 1,200 members of the National Assembly convened in Taipei February 19 for the electoral meeting to consider the nominations of Chiang Ching-kuo and Shieh Tung-min and choose the President and Vice President of the Republic of China for the next six years. The members came from all over the world to carry out their sixth exercise of the constitutionally stipulated exercise of electing leaders in the name of the people.
President Yen cited the contributions of the Assembly in advancing the cause of constitutional government. He said this accorded with the instructions of President Chiang Kai-shek to "let the minority follow the majority and not generalize about the whole from only a part of it." He said that in the chaotic international situation, Assemblymen should adhere to fundamental principles and not allow contingencies to alter fundamental principles.
The sixth meeting of the Assembly, he said, was consolidating the unity of the people, creating new opportunities for the nation, inspiring the confidence of mainland compatriots and promoting international understanding.
"Examination of the revolutionary situation convinces me," he said, "that in approaching final victory we shall face more difficulties and heavier blows. Without a determined and wise revolutionary leadership, we cannot expect to overcome all dangers and obstacles and attain the final triumph of anti-Communism and national recovery. The election of President and Vice President is the most sacred responsibility of the National Assembly. I am completely confident that you will follow the will of the people and the public opinion of the nation in casting your precious ballots for the best possible choices for sixth President and Vice President of the Republic of China, thus accomplishing your historic mission. You will be fulfilling your duty to the country and people and for anti-Communism and national recovery, and will be living up to the expectations of the people at home and abroad and in front of and behind the enemy's lines. I have benefited from your instructions for many years, and for this I am deeply grateful. Upon completion of my term in office, I shall follow you all in my capacity as a citizen who respects the national policy and serves the country."
The second man to serve as President of the Republic of China said the National Assembly would "become the center of unity in alleviating the national crisis. This is also the critical juncture for you to seize the historical trend of the times and lead the way toward our national destiny. I have no doubt that you will exert your concerted efforts and contribute inspired planning in maintaining our course of anti-Communism, democracy, unity and progress. The glorious constitutional rule of the Three Principles of the People thus will prevail throughout the country and the sacred war for national recovery and reconstruction will soon be won."
The Republic of China is not only alive and well but prospering under great leadership. Premier Chiang Ching-kuo, Governor Shieh Tung-min and President Yen Chia-kan all attest to that.